2009 Jaguar XF Review

Specifications

It’s a very rare occurrence for me to say that I’ve fallen in love with a car, but this is one time when I think, no, I know I have. It’s with Jaguar’s latest sedan, the XF Supercharged, and what a fabulous car it is.

To be honest, I’m not remotely surprised that I’ve fallen head over heels for it. This is the car that’s supposed to make or break Jaguar, the one that’s supposed to act as its fountain of youth, revitalizing sales and restoring health, and in order to do so, it’s got to be good. And it appears that I’m not the only one interested. So far, this has been the year that the cat has clawed its way back up the sales charts. Gazing onlookers who saw the XF for the first time at auto salons across the globe must have seen something more than just another premium midsize car. If not, why would Jaguar have tallied over 10,000 global orders for the sedan by February, before even going on sale? It’s a good start for what might be the most important vehicle in Jaguar’s history.

That success comes in the premium luxury sector, not the friendliest place to launch a car. The competition isn’t quite as thick as it is in the world of midsize four-doors from entry-level brands, or for that matter crossovers and compacts, but every vehicle vying for your $60,000 is nothing less than very well executed. These vehicles must not only be built to immaculate standards, but they’ve also got to be ahead of the curve in dynamics; they must cosset and soothe yet entertain the driver. It’s a tough job, but if done right it can equate to solid sales and strengthened reputations. Just look at the image BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz have built up, not to mention Lexus. Now, imagine trying to crack the segment; it’s no easy task.

But to fall in love with a car on the grounds of good intentions is hardly sound reasoning. No, I fell in love with the XF at first sight, so let’s start with how it looks. By Jaguar standards, the conversion from the S-Type to this is epic, simply because in the last few decades Jaguar has never managed to free itself from the history books. Not everyone finds the XF as beautiful as its sports car sibling, the XK, but I think it’s stunning. It nose is striking to the point where it turns heads; it is muscular yet progressive, aggressive but restrained. As a four-door coupe, it’s a definite success, standing low and sleek, and indeed it is - the front and rear pillars are as raked on the XF as they are on the XK, and it culminates with a pert tail and haunches that look as if they were derived from an Aston Martin.

Sitting near the corner of Bay and Wellington in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, the domain of the power-suited broker, the XF attracts attention like no other four-door. Every third or fourth person who walked by gazed long and hard at the Jag. If a car can cut it here, then it can cut it anywhere.

British carmakers of late have done a fantastic job of bringing modern interior decor into the auto industry. Think about the current Range Rover with its yacht-like stanchions or the Aston DB9 with is gently curving dash and open-pore bamboo wood trim. Now look at the XF. It still has the requisite leather and wood, the stitching and the burl, but you wouldn’t recognize the place setting. “Ye olde English” warmth is now in the history books, yielding way to cool, sophisticated metal finishes. The fat, space-eating center consoles of past are gone, replaced by a slim facade that houses the organized stereo and HVAC controls, and, the dash itself is one leather-trimmed streamlined swoosh that stretches from door to door, housing the instrument cluster and nav screen. It’s all bathed and back-lit in an ice-cool blue, creating an ambience that most night clubs and lounges could only hope for.

Driving along, you could easily convince yourself that you’re in a real coupe. Though there are five seatbelts, the XF is very much a four-seater. And while egress and ingress is no different than that of a 5-Series or E-Class, it has less rear headroom than its rivals. In the back it’s actually sort of average, to be honest, and if you’re above six feet tall, you’re on the margin of touching your head against the roof. Legroom is better than what it was with the S-Type, but it’s far from class leading. Nevertheless, it’s a comfy place to be, even if you’re not sitting up front.

Though it’s tempting to just stand back and look at it as if it were a sculpture, the XF is best when driven. Push the red starter button, which throbs like a heartbeat, and hear the supercharged V8 clear its throat before settling into a smooth but deep idle. Do so and the interior comes to life; the once hidden vents swivel and the gearshift knob rises from what was the flush center console. Run your fingers over the silver circle embedded into the wood, and watch the glove box pop open; the same goes for the overhead lights. Drive one of these, and you’ll either feel like you’re in a concept car or you’ve been given James Bond’s personal ride.

At the helm, the XF feels nearly identical to the XK, but slightly softer around the edges. Upon close technical inspection it turns out that the XF is a sort of half-breed between the S-Type and the XK; it uses the hard points and floor pan of the previous Jag sedan (brought up to date, of course) and the suspension and steering from the sports coupe. And even though the XF doesn’t have the aluminum monocoque body and panels of the XK or XJ, it still defies its dimensions. It is one of the biggest and heaviest vehicles in its class, but on the road it feels compact in size.

Laugh if you will, but the XF feels like it’s telepathic. The steering is eager and sharp to the degree that it seems to know what you’re thinking about, but there’s none of the suddenness or jerkiness. The balance of the chassis is nigh on neutral, allowing you to push with confidence, and with the right winding road ahead you will, egged on by the ever-present roar, shove and whine of 420 supercharged horsepower and the instantaneous, perfectly blipped downshifts from the paddleshift-actuated ZF six-speed automatic. There’s a reason Jaguar fitted the XF with a track mode - it’s not just a gimmick, but an aid. It’s very easy to drive it at its potential. Activating it dials the stability control back, allowing the tail room to step out with ease, but only at your guidance; it stops the autobox from shifting up by itself at redline, but, if things get too sideways, it’ll straighten everything out and get you back on the straight and narrow.

Despite the 20 inch wheels, and finger nail-width smear of rubber that they’re wrapped in, the XF is taut but never overtly hard. Its aluminum suspension and adaptive damping mute the shock of bumps, and yet leave enough feel so you’ll know exactly what’s passing underneath. The XF isn’t fazed by the sort of surfaces that would hobble a 5-Series or A6; it just flies over them.

I can honestly say that I’ve never driven a car that’s so capable of entertaining when driven hard and fast, and yet so calming at a cruise. It seems that Jaguar not only understands what the performance enthusiast wants, but meets their desires and needs for luxury too.

I also like Jaguar’s philosophy with regards to equipment, in that you’re not nickel and dimed to death for the essentials or luxuries. Navigation is standard. Keyless access is standard. An iPod adapter and Bluetooth connectivity are standard. Ventilated seats and a heated windshield are also standard, as is blind spot assistance and adaptive damping. In fact, the only option you have to pay for is a heated steering wheel and radar cruise control, which also includes collision mitigation. To put that in perspective, the XF Supercharged has a starting price of $62,975, which is shocking because it looks and feels like it’s worth twice as much. That’s about $6,500 cheaper than an comparably-equipped 550i, let alone the $10,000 more for an equally equipped E550. This is completely beside the fact that it blows them both away in terms of outright performance. Shuffled up against Audi’s closest competitor, the S6, and you’d have to spend a massive $14,290 more for an equally equipped model. Not only is it one of the best looking and best driving cars in the segment, but it’s also the most attractively priced.

And then there’s a matter of sound. Personally, I could never get tired of hearing the AJ V8’s raspy growl and the twangy whine of the supercharger, but if you’re going to make a high-end, high-performance car, why not add a high-performance sound system? Jaguar has introduced British sound experts Bowers & Wilkins to the car world with a 440-watt 13-speaker 7.1 surround sound high-definition system. The signature yellow Kevlar cones and aluminum-domed tweeters it features are built to take the highs and lows of modern music without distortion, and yet it retains much of the warmth that most modern digital systems lack.

There is something to be said about Jaguar quality too, and if you’re in doubt, perhaps you should give the brand a second chance because there’s no better time than now. For instance, if you think that the very important gearshift knob is compromised and potentially prone to failure, you had best think again. Jaguar tested it to destruction - its engineers have raised and lowered it some 64,000 times in a row, simulated a small child jumping on it, and tested it against the most likely of accidents as well, such as spilling a can of Coke all over it. In their labs, they went a bit on overkill and doused it with gallons of the sticky, acidic carmel-colored beverage that’s known to fry electronics and seize motors. And, of course, it passed with flying colors. In fact, if Jaguar means poor reliability to you, you ought to have a look at what JD Power and Associates have to say. According to Jag’s customers, they think rather highly of the brand, which has earned the highest SSI (Sales Satisfaction Index) and CSI (Consumer Service Index) over the past couple of years.

If there are some flaws to find with the XF, they’re minor and of the nit-pick variety. I spotted a couple of Ford switches, such as the memory settings for the seats, and the metal-look trim on the overhead console looks as if it was spray painted. Also, the window and mirror switches look suspiciously like those in my Volvo S40. But other than that, I really don’t have any complaints.

Rather, the Jaguar XF Supercharged verges on perfection. I’m blown away at how far Jaguar has come with the XF; its driving dynamics are spot on, it has all the luxury goods, and the image. As a cohesive package, it’s really hard to beat. But what makes the XF such a heartthrob, its proverbial 21 amongst rivals, is emotion and the fact that it is able to stir up such strong reactions. And that, ladies and gents, is what makes the XF Supercharged a fantastic automobile. It’s not only my pick of the litter, but of the segment too.